The invention relates to an apparatus for preparing beverages, comprising:
a filter carrier or filter for accommodating a substance which is to be brought into contact with water, which filter carrier or which filter is provided with a filter inlet and a filter outlet;
a filter casing in which at least lower portion of said filter carrier or said filter lies free from the filter casing, said filter casing being provided with a beverage passage which is in communication with said filter outlet;
a weighing structure which supports said filter carrier or said filter, said weighing structure being designed for providing an indication as to the weight of the substance held in said filter carrier or said filter; and
a beverage receptacle for storing prepared beverage, said beverage receptacle being provided with an inlet opening, which inlet opening in the operational state is in communication with said filter outlet and is situated downstream thereof.
Such an apparatus is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,114. An apparatus for preparing a beverage in the form of coffee is known from this publication, in which the filter carrier can be weighed by means of a suspension mechanism in the form of a lever construction. A float placed in the water reservoir and connected to the lever construction influences the weighing process in dependence on the quantity of water present in the water reservoir. This renders it possible to indicate prior to the preparation of the beverage whether the quantity of substance in the filter is correct for the quantity of water in the water reservoir.
It is a disadvantage of the known apparatus, however, that the prepared coffee during preparation flows from the filter carrier and is spilled when the beverage receptacle is removed from the operational position.
It is known from EP 0 091 634 to counteract this disadvantage through the use of a drip stop. This European patent describes an apparatus for preparing coffee which comprises among other elements a filter carrier provided with an outlet. Said outlet is provided with a closing mechanism which is moved by a lever operated during use in that a coffee jug is placed in the operational position below the filter carrier or is removed from this operational position. This apparatus, however, is not fitted with means for weighing the quantity of substance in the filter carrier.
It is an object of the invention to provide a possibility of combining the closing off of the beverage supply with a reliable provision of an indication as to the quantity of coffee powder in the filter carrier.
The apparatus according to the invention is for this purpose characterized in that it is provided with a drip stop which releases the beverage passage in an open position and which closes said beverage passage in a closed position.
Since the drip stop can close off the beverage passage, the filter casing can retain prepared beverage flowing through the filter outlet from the filter carrier and thus interrupt the supply of beverage. At the same time, opening or closing of the drip stop does not interfere with the weighing of the filter carrier and the substances held therein because the drip stop closes and releases the beverage passage of the filter casing and accordingly no forces are exerted on the filter carrier by the drip stop.
Particularly advantageous embodiments of the invention are defined in the dependent claims.